The rise in plastic pollution
Plastic pollution has continued to rise, so much so that we are now facing a waste crisis. The amount of plastic pollution that ends up in the oceans each year is the equivalent of one garbage truck per minute. Plastic waste is leaking into our environment and clogging up our oceans. There is an estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the oceans. If this continues, by 2050, the amount of plastic in the ocean will outweigh the fish.
Of the 78 million tons of plastic packaging produced every year, only 14% is collected for recycling. Crucially, only 2% of all the world’s plastic packaging is recycled in a “closed loop”, where material can be used for the same or similar kind of packaging once again. 86% of plastic packaging currently ends up in landfills and incinerators, or as litter.¹